The chapter of Revelation 12 is one of the most intriguing hidden gems of the Bible. It is a story of Christian persecution in the modern times. It is a damsel-in-distress story barely anyone talks about (due to its religious symbolism). Even more is that many of the pagans misinterpreted the characters in this story as they hang in the sky, as they clearly weren't Christ-centered.
It is, however, intended to be seen best in the Northern Hemisphere (see section "Southern Hemisphere" on this page for why). Not all asterisms involved in the story are visible from the Southern Hemisphere (where I myself live).
The Woman = Ursa Major
"And there appeared a great wonder (sign) in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered."
Now to bring this point forward: this woman is NOT Mary!
This woman represents the Christian Church as it is persecuted while trying to bring the Gospel of Jesus into the world. Paul says in Galatians 4:19-20: "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you."
The woman is represented in the sky by the constellation Ursa Major (which is mostly only visible in the northern hemisphere). Instead of seeing Ursa Major as a pregnant woman, the pagans saw it as a bear.
The Crown of Stars = Corona Borealis
The constellation Corona Borealis represents a crown. Although "Borealis" means northern, Corona Borealis can be seen in the southern hemisphere. It may seem at first to have only 7 stars, but if you count a few more stars (plus two from neighboring Boötes), you can count 12 stars (one in the center).
However, the constellation Corona Borealis doesn't appear to be on top of the head of the woman! Rather, she seems to be reaching out for it with her left arm (but it still fits the Bible's description of the crown being above her head). But God deliberately placed the crown there to teach us a lesson:
"I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown." (Rev 3:11 NIV)
The crown represents our rewards in Heaven, so let's continue to pursue holiness so that we can achieve our crown.
The Child = Upsilon Ursae Majoris
This is a small F-type main-sequence star, similar to our Sun but significantly hotter. It seems to be in the "womb" region of the woman, Ursa Major. Therefore it looks like she is giving birth to it. (This star cannot be seen from New Zealand.)
The Red Dragon = Hyades, Pleiades, Aries, Cetus, Pisces, etc.
Verse 9 NIV: "The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him."
That verse clearly shows who the dragon represents. The dragon is not like other non-God-inspired dragon constellations like Hydra and Draco. This dragon's mouth is the Hyades cluster. Its body and front legs consists of a variety of stars in Taurus, the back part of the body a few stars in Cetus, the tail consists of a few stars in Pisces (Alrescha, etc.) and Aries, and the end of the tail is the Pleiades cluster. The seven heads and ten horns (Revelation 12:3) are bright stars in the nearby Auriga constellation.
The Bible speaks of a great red dragon in heaven. So why is this dragon not made entirely of red stars? Many of its stars are actually blue (i.e. the Pleiades, Hyades, Alrescha, etc.) God could have also made all the constellations we discussed obvious that any and everybody could easily spot them. But God did not choose to do that. After all, neither did God choose to make the Bible so plain, that all the mysteries were so easily seen, that the whole world would fall to our knees in surrender to its truths. But God did not choose to do that either. Proverbs 25:2 says that "[i]t is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter." God has elected us to be priests and kings… “And [Christ] hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father;” Revelation 1:6. And as kings, we are to search out the mysteries of the Bible, which God has hidden within its pages. But though we are kings, God still wants us to come to Him as little children. He wants us to come to Him by faith. In other words, God presents enough truth for Believers to believe, and enough doubts for doubters to doubt.
But the red color dilemma is solved by the dragon's red tooth. It is called Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri) and it is a bright red giant star.
So this phenomenon in the heavens gives us the answer as to just why the Bible describes satan as a great RED dragon: satan is a murderer, and though he has murdered many, his chief objects of hatred are those Christians whom he has martyred through the centuries; hence the red tooth (Aldebaran) and the red star (Betelgeuse) on the right shoulder of Orion.
Revelation 12:3-4 GNT: "Another mysterious sight appeared in the sky. There was a huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and a crown on each of his heads. With his tail he dragged a third of the stars out of the sky and threw them down to the earth. He stood in front of the woman, in order to eat her child as soon as it was born."
Note that the end of the dragon's tail is the Pleiades cluster; a very dense cluster consisting of blue stars. The Pleiades cluster represents the 1/3 of stars dragged by the dragon's tail down to Earth. This is symbolic language in which satan mutinied against God in Heaven due to his hubris; based on this he took 1/3 of the angels with him.
Now let's carry on with the narrative: "Then she gave birth to a son, who will rule over all nations with an iron rod. But the child was snatched away and taken to God and his throne. The woman fled to the desert, to a place God had prepared for her, where she will be taken care of for 1,260 days." (Rev 12:5-6 GNT)
As previously stated, the Christ Child is symbolized by the dwarf star Upsilon UMa, which is already in Heaven. The eagle's wings are marked out by very faint stars.
Michael = Orion
"Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, who fought back with his angels; but the dragon was defeated, and he and his angels were not allowed to stay in heaven any longer. The huge dragon was thrown out—that ancient serpent, named the Devil, or Satan, that deceived the whole world. He was thrown down to earth, and all his angels with him." (Rev. 12:7-9)
The pagans thought that Orion was a great creature. The Greeks thought he was a hunter, with a club, who was placed among the stars for his arrogance. They were not too far off.
God created Orion to look like a soldier. In the Revelation 12 constellation drama, Orion represents the archangel Michael as he fights the dragon.
Orion lies below the Hyades (the mouth of the dragon). He has a shield of stars, and he holds a sword in his right hand. He is clearly in a position that implies he is in a war against the great dragon.
As the night progresses, the dragon traverses the sky with Michael (Orion) fighting it. As the hours pass by, the dragon's position in the sky lowers down, in line with the description of the great dragon being cast down to Earth.
"Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “Now God's salvation has come! Now God has shown his power as King! Now his Messiah has shown his authority! For the one who stood before our God and accused believers day and night has been thrown out of heaven. They won the victory over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the truth which they proclaimed; and they were willing to give up their lives and die. And so be glad, you heavens, and all you that live there! But how terrible for the earth and the sea! For the Devil has come down to you, and he is filled with rage, because he knows that he has only a little time left.”" (12:10-12 GNT)
This is not represented in the sky (except for the dragon being cast down to Earth part), rather it's something to think about.
"When the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he began to pursue the woman who had given birth to the boy. She was given the two wings of a large eagle in order to fly to her place in the desert, where she will be taken care of for three and a half years, safe from the dragon's attack." (v13-14 GNT)
The woman (Ursa Major) still lies in the sky, while the dragon, now close to the horizon, still goes after her.
Wave of Water = Auriga
"And then from his mouth the dragon poured out a flood of water after the woman, so that it would carry her away. But the earth helped the woman; it opened its mouth and swallowed the water that had come from the dragon's mouth. The dragon was furious with the woman and went off to fight against the rest of her descendants, all those who obey God's commandments and are faithful to the truth revealed by Jesus." (12:15-17 GNT)
The wave of water is symbolic of the false doctrines/heresies satan throws towards Christians (the seed of the woman) in an attempt to destroy them, e.g. the prosperity gospel, new age, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, etc. The wave of water constellation in the sky consists of a few stars of Taurus but mostly of the constellation Auriga.
The Greeks saw Auriga as a charioteer ("Auriga" being Latin for charioteer). Really? It looks nothing like a charioteer! Taking more fainter stars into account really makes it look like a wave of water. The stars that constitute it are the same stars that represent the "ten horns and seven heads" of Revelation 12:3. The "wave of water" also seems to be pointing directly at Ursa Major (the woman).
Auriga is entirely visible from New Zealand, unlike Ursa Major, but it does not rise much over the horizon.
I would like you to notice the two bright stars at the end of the wave: 6 is Menkalinan, a blue giant, and 7 is Capella, a system of yellow giants and red dwarfs.
The final verse in the chapter: "And the dragon stood on the seashore." (v17 GNT)
Again this is an allusion to the dragon setting over the horizon following its fall from Heaven. The following chapter (Revelation 13) concerns the end times, and is not represented in the sky. But it is also a very important topic. However, there is another element in Revelation linked to the Revelation 12 story and shown in the sky.
The Horse
Revelation 19:11 GNT: "Then I saw heaven open, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True; it is with justice that he judges and fights his battles."
The horse is called a "white horse" as its brightest stars (Mirfak and Algol) are white stars. The front part of the horse consists of the constellations Perseus, one of the legs by the constellation Triangulum, the lower part by the orange giant Almach in the constellation Andromeda, and the rear end and tail by Cassiopeia (which is only visible in the northern hemisphere).
Zechariah 10:3-5 GNT: "Yahweh says, “I am angry with those foreigners who rule my people, and I am going to punish them. The people of Judah are mine, and I, Yahweh Tsevaot, will take care of them. They will be my powerful war-horses. From among them will come rulers, leaders, and commanders to govern my people. The people of Judah will be victorious like soldiers who trample their enemies in the mud of the streets. They will fight because Yahweh is with them, and they will defeat even the enemy cavalry."
If you look closely, the horse is trampling on the dragon's tail (Aries)!
Rider = Camelopardalis
"Then I saw heaven open, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True; it is with justice that he judges and fights his battles. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and he wore many crowns on his head. He had a name written on him, but no one except himself knows what it is." (Revelation 19:11-12 GNT)
This constellation is only visible in the northern hemisphere. It is also very faint, but He appears to glow as the Milky Way goes through Him! Stars represent believers, and this constellation (Christ on the horse) constitutes multiple stars. It's like Christ working throughout the church. And it's nearly impossible to detect his presence, which is why the rider is so faint!
The Full Picture
All Glory to God!
